by Tina Leonard
“I would not consider Vivi a beautiful woman.”
She lifted her head. “I saw pictures of her and her brother in Wine magazine. She’s stunning.”
“Not to me. You’re confusing outer beauty with inner beauty. Vivi can be a shark, I’m pretty sure.”
“Oh, I don’t like sharks. They bite.” She snuggled back against his chest, relaxing. A delicious languor was stealing over her, and she didn’t want the mood to go away.
“Yes, they do. As I told Vivi, I never mix business and pleasure.” He ran a swift hand under Maddie’s skirt, giving her bottom a lingering massage.
She jumped, moving swiftly away. “I’m taking the babies upstairs.”
“That’s not an invitation, is it?”
“No.” She laughed. “It’s avoiding temptation.”
“Where’s Vivi’s wine when I need it?”
“It wouldn’t help you,” she said. “I’m unavailable for another four weeks, and even if I weren’t, I wouldn’t.”
He followed after her with the baby carrier she’d left behind. “Four weeks is a long time. You might change your mind.”
“Nine months was a long time. We’d made up our minds, though. Without the babies, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”
Setting down the carrier in the nursery, he glanced around the room, assessing it. “It looks different without all the family cluttering it up like the Waltons.”
“We are certainly not the Waltons!” But she laughed, just the same. “You aren’t John Boy by any stretch.” Way too sexy for that.
“I doubt Ma and Pa Walton ever tied one on, either. Somehow I think it should be us on the patio, forgetting our cares.”
Maddie sat in a rocker, and Sam took the one next to hers. The babies slept on, undisturbed by the emotions their parents were feeling. “We must have hurt each other a lot, to have drawn up those separation papers,” she said softly. “I don’t ever want to go through that again.”
“I don’t, either.”
“But we did the right thing, Sam. You know we did.” She rolled her head to look at him. “I could kiss you all night and it would be wonderful, but in the morning, I’d still be glad we’re separated.”
“Not me. I’d be going for seconds. And thirds.”
She smiled. “You obviously haven’t spent a night up with the babies if you think you’d actually want sex. Would you like to do an all-nighter?”
“Not the kind you’re apparently suggesting, but will you get some rest if I do?”
“I’m ready to give the boys up for a night. I could chill some breast milk for you.”
He leaned close, taking her hand in his as he stared into her eyes. “I’ll make you a deal. You send all of our relatives off to their various dwellings, and I’ll be Dad on duty. Empty out this place so it’s just you and me, and I’ll be more than happy to watch late night talk TV. And reruns of Twilight Zone. With the babies.”
“You think you can?”
“I’m more than up to the challenge.” He pounded his chest, Tarzanlike. “And if I do it without any assistance at all from anyone, I get my reward in the morning.”
“Hey! I don’t get a reward for doing it!” she said, jumping because his hand was sneaking up her skirt again. “All you’re going to want is a nap after that.”
He leaned close to whisper in her ear so their sons wouldn’t hear. “I want to kiss your ankles,” he murmured.
Every tiny hair along her arms became electrified. “Is…that so?” she asked carefully.
“And your calves.”
“That would be a great place to stop.”
“Not until I get to your thighs,” he said silkily, taunting her ear lightly with his tongue.
“And then you’ll stop? It really is the place to stop,” she told him. “You noticed your father respected the Mason-Dixon line.”
“Yes, but I’m an international traveler. And I’m used to different time zones, so I know I can stay up all night, and then kiss you all over in the morning.”
She gasped, her heart pounding, her nipples tight as rosebuds. “Sam—”
“I think our parents have the right idea. A romantic evening with great steak and fabulous wine, just the four of us, two who are little enough for an early bedtime. Don’t you find that tempting?”
It was difficult not to agree with him when her blood was singing to the tune he was playing. Common sense told her it was a bad idea—her nearly ex-husband and seduction were a terrible combination—but having her ankles kissed was so enticing…. “It sounds anything but relaxing,” she said, making her voice as stern as possible. “I thought you said I needed to relax.”
“You’ll feel like melted butter before the sun hits the noon high, I promise.”
“Maddie!”
Franny’s voice suddenly shattered the mood. Maddie jerked away from Sam, pulling her hand from his grasp.
“Yes?”
“Oh, my goodness!” Franny rushed into the room, panicked until she saw the babies were asleep. “We noticed your car was back,” she whispered urgently. “We…we must have dozed off.”
“We noticed.”
The rest of their family filed upstairs behind her, and suddenly the large nursery seemed very small. Their faces were pink from the sun, and perhaps from embarrassment. They were slightly sweaty. Joey had buttoned his jeans and stood shaking his head like a sleepy bear trying to clear away buzzing bees.
Sam squeezed her hand. Maddie bit her lip, trying to decide.
He ran one finger casually along her ankle as he leaned over to surreptitiously adjust a baby blanket.
“Listen, everyone,” Maddie said in a rush, “we’re giving you the night off. Sam wants to try staying up with his sons so everyone can rest.”
Sara clasped her hands together. “Oh, Sammy, I’m so proud of you.”
“That’s my boy. Responsible,” Severn said.
“You’ll grill the steaks and sit at the table we set for you?” Franny pleaded. “We were trying to do something nice. We didn’t mean to fall asleep on the job.”
“It’s okay,” Sam told her. “You all deserve a break. And Maddie’s in very capable hands. Trust me.”
Chapter Six
“Wimp!” Joey observed, staring down at his zonked brother-in-law. An unmerciful glee lit his eyes. “Guess staying up all night with two tiny babies was more than old Sam could handle.”
“Take it easy on him.” Maddie thought even an exhausted Sam was handsome. Dark brown hair lay rumpled on his head. A dark shadow stubbled his jawline and lower cheeks. His chest was bare, and she tried not to think about how fit he was. But a lean washboard stomach and nicely developed chest was enough to make any woman look twice, and she wasn’t just any woman. She was still his wife, technically—looking was okay, right? She gave herself permission to look again—and caught Sam staring at her.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning.” She refused to let the rush of admiration panic her into acting less than cool. He’d nearly talked her into letting down her guard last night. She’d nearly surrendered to Sam’s seduction.
Thank heavens the babies wore him out!
“Guess I missed the fun. Sorry about that.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be.” She picked up an infant, refusing to be lured by Sam again. “I haven’t slept that well in months.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“So am I,” Joey interjected. “Maddie didn’t sleep well from about the middle of her pregnancy on. And in the beginning of her pregnancy, she hurl—”
“That’s not necessary, Joey,” Maddie interrupted. “Sam doesn’t want to hear all the gory details.”
He raised an eyebrow as he lounged on the sofa. “Maybe I should.”
“It’s not that interesting.”
“I think I might find it more interesting than you give me credit for.”
She wasn’t going to allow the intimacy to build between
them again. Last night had proved to her that Sam’s power of persuasion was still very strong. “I’m going downstairs to breast-feed Hayden,” she said, picking up the baby.
“I’ll bring Henry in a few minutes,” Joey told her. Since Henry was still sleeping, and Hayden was ready for a meal, Maddie left without glancing back at Sam.
“So. You were going to fill me in on some details Maddie feels I don’t need to know?” Sam raised an eyebrow at the man who outweighed him by at least a hundred pounds, but who was gentle as a kitten except for his love of body-bruising sports.
“I guess not. I’ve already betrayed my sister more than I should have.” Joey sank onto the sofa next to Sam, picking up the TV remote to flip through channels.
“I’m glad you called me, Joey. I’m not sure Maddie intended to anytime soon.”
“Yeah, well. We all worked on her about it. But she swore our folks and yours to absolute secrecy. And we could see she was totally tortured with panic that she might not be able to carry to term.” He shrugged massive shoulders. “Right or wrong, we decided to let Maddie call the shots in her life, not that we’ve ever been much for minding our own business before.” Joey rolled his head on the sofa to give Sam a piercing look. “In case you wondered, we didn’t take sides when you two split up. We kept thinking Maddie would break down and call you herself. But,” he said with a sigh, “she was paralyzed, and I suppose I can understand.”
“So why’d you finally break down and tell me the good news?”
“Because Maddie was so sad. She was afraid to call you. Afraid you’d be angry, and afraid you wouldn’t want to come back.” Joey stared at him, his big eyes honest. “You’d been gone an awful long time. She’d accepted that it was over. But in her heart, I think she wanted you to come back on your own. It would have broken her heart if you weren’t happy about the children.”
“I’m happy,” Sam growled. “I’m so happy that I’m trying to talk her into having a real marriage again.”
Joey nodded. “Well, Maddie’s a tough case, no question. I think she’s pretty determined to not need you anymore.”
“I see.”
Getting to his feet, Joey laid down the remote. “Guess I’ll shove off. There’s nothing on the tube.”
“Did you come by just to gawk at my stupor from being up with the twins?” Sam stared at his brother-in-law narrowly.
“Yeah. I needed a good laugh today.”
“Thanks.” Sam grimaced.
“Aw, don’t feel sorry for yourself. I know you deserved it, ’cause Maddie told me you saw me stretched out on the patio table yesterday. And laughed because I’m such a lightweight drinker.”
“It’s the only thing you’re a lightweight at,” Sam grumbled.
Joey rolled up a burping towel and tossed it at him like a football. “I’ll let you get back to sleep. See ya. Come on, Henry. Time for din-din.”
He scooped the infant carefully in his huge hands, much like he would a football he was recovering, and went downstairs, thundering on the steps though they were carpeted. Sam stared at the blank TV, thinking about everything Joey had told him about Maddie.
They’d been happy together. What more did two people need other than love and respect?
He’d let his ego get in the way, and that was all there was to it. And Maddie was determined not to get hurt again. He could understand that. There was plenty of time to devote to winning her back.
No time like the present. He hopped up, pulled on a shirt, ran a hand through his hair and went downstairs to find her.
She was in the kitchen, hanging up the phone as he entered. She smiled as he picked Hayden up from a nearby blanket. “Are those sons of yours starting to wrap you around their little fingers?”
“They are awfully cute, I have to admit.” He sighed, his chest expanding in a manner Maddie found very appealing. “When they’re not crying. That’s a bit rough.”
Her eyes widened. “Did they cry? I didn’t hear a thing.”
Sam shifted, sending a glance at her out of the corner of his eyes. “You may not want to hear this, but they only woke up once. After they drank up their bottles like greedy pigs, and a speedy diaper dance, they went down like stones.”
She put her hands on her hips. “You get night duty from now on. They’ve never slept through the night for any of us.”
She could tell he liked that by the grin he wore.
“It’s because I’m their father. They sense security nearby.”
“Oh, I see. Good. I like sleeping at night.”
Sam’s forehead wrinkled. “Henry doesn’t quite eat with the enthusiasm that Hayden does, though.”
She’d noticed the same thing. “I try not to let it worry me. He was last to be delivered, and they had a little tougher time with him, so maybe his appetite isn’t quite as developed.” She was rationalizing, she knew, but Henry’s appetite did worry her.
“So, about the morning’s activities you escaped before I had a chance to make good on my promise—”
Maddie held up a hand. “Not to hurt your feelings or anything, but with the dawn came rational thought. I realized just how bad of an idea it would be to succumb to your offer.”
He raised a brow. “Oh?”
“I need to be thinking clearly,” she said primly. “About our family, about us. I can’t be involved in a pseudoromance with you.”
“Pseudoromance?”
“We’re not on, but we’re not off,” she pointed out. “That is, if I let you, um, romance me. I want to stay off. It’s better for me that way.”
“Not for me.”
Maddie stared at him, unwilling to say another word. He was handsome as the devil, he could say all the right words, but she had suffered too much up to, through and during their separation to allow herself to forget all the pain. Maybe it wasn’t right not to be able to move on, but their marriage breaking down had hurt too much. “I’m sorry, Sam. I think I’m handling all I can right now.”
“I’d like to be there for you. I’d like to be an emotional support.”
She shook her head. “I have to do this for myself.”
“Why? Why won’t you let us do this together?”
“Because the first thing you did when you got back in town was tell Martin to file papers to ensure I stayed away from what you consider yours,” she said. “As simply as if it were only wine bottles. First, you called Martin to rescind your offer. ‘Draw up the papers, Martin, and tell Jardin the deal is off.’ Then you called Martin to keep me out of the sperm bank. ‘Draw up the papers, Martin, and tell Maddie the deal is off.”’ She snapped her fingers. “Everything is business to you, Sam. When you want something done, you bring in your heavy. Martin.” Opening her purse, she withdrew some papers and slapped them against his chest, so he instinctively reached up to grab them. “These were delivered to me this morning. Pardon me if I don’t wait around to see what papers you’re going to have me served with next.”
She hurried away, tears blurring her eyes.
“Maddie! Hang on a sec!”
Sam grabbed her arm, slowing her down before turning her to face him. “Hey,” he said, wiping the tears away gently from under her eyes. “Believe it or not, I’ve already had an epiphany this morning about how I’ve been handling the situation.”
“What kind of epiphany?” she asked, trying to hold back a sniffle and not succeeding.
He shook his head as his fingers continued to stroke along her cheek. “A Joey epiphany.”
“Oh.” She snatched a tissue from a box and scrubbed at her nose. “About what?”
“Not fitting into the picture. When I received the startling news in France, I guess I came home with certain ideas of how I thought I should handle the matter. Though I was thrilled to be a father, I knew you well enough to know you’d be back at the lab conceiving—without me.” He paused, his eyes searching hers. “I want you to need me, Maddie. I don’t think you’ll try to fit me completely into your life if you ha
ve someplace else to go for what you want more than anything.”
“Joey needs to mind his own business. I don’t want you having any epiphanies,” Maddie replied, her voice crisp. “I may be too reliant on Maitland, but you’re definitely too reliant upon Martin.” She stared at Sam, her eyes flaming with anger.
“I’ll admit it was the wrong thing to do. I do feel sort of misplaced, or not needed, in a crazy way I can’t understand. I’m sorry. I’m trying to fit us together, Maddie. Don’t you want that, too?”
She hesitated for a moment, staring up at him. The blood rushed through her body, pumping hard through her heart, making her feel nervous. “It’s not you. It’s me.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve invited Vivi to visit, Sam. I called her this morning, and with the time difference, she was able to get a flight for today. She’ll be here around seven. I’ve called Martin and invited him to dinner, so you’ll have your legal beagle on hand for the paperwork. I want you to buy her company, and then I want you to go back to your home in France.”
Chapter Seven
“What?” He pulled Maddie to sit on the kitchen table bench. “You’re serious about all this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. It’s no good, Sam.” She looked at him sadly. “We are what we are.”
“It was good enough before.”
“No, it wasn’t. You know that. You’re trying to act like the past never happened. It did, though.”
“I don’t care about the past, Maddie. I care about us. I’m not going back to France.”
“You’ll make me very unhappy if you stay. You’re trying too hard, and I’m uncomfortable with trying to force our marriage back together.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I have been moving quickly. I guess I wanted to fit us together for the sake of Henry and Hayden, and to do that, I felt like I needed to make up for lost time.”
Her eyes crinkled at the edges wistfully as she looked at him. “I still love you,” she said softly. “I always will. But we hit that fork in the road, and we chose different paths. I want you to go back to France and stay on the path you were walking before Joey called you.”
